Where Do We Go From Here
by Accio-love55
Summary: Post-Inception. Focuses on Ariadne and Arthur after the mission is over. Only Rated M for a precaution, not promised to reach M. I'm horrible at summaries, read inside for more information. Read & Review :D
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't know anything in Inception, that belongs all to Christopher Nolan the writer, director and producer. The only thing I own is the story line in my story but the original characters belong to Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers.

A/N: Hi All who may be reading this. **I know you don't normally read this but please read. **This is my first fanfiction in a long long time, I lost the desire to write and kind of gave it up but I started reading more stories on this site and got my will to write back. I find that I can escape into what I write but that isn't what this author note is for. It started on track but now isn't on track…so back on track right. This story is going to be a little out of character for some of the characters, they are still all going to be the same in a way but I like to add my own twist to them. The story its self is going to be set once they all leave the LAX airport after they complete inception. At first the story is going to be a little slow but give me some time to get into the swing of things again. It will help if you guys review and let me know how to do better, thank you all so much for reading this, now onto the story. OH RIGHT! This story is going to be most centered around the relationship of Arthur and Ariadne with some of the other characters thrown in to make the story interesting. Now for real, onto the story.

Chapter 1

Ariadne stood at baggage claim to grab her suitcase when she looked up and saw Cobb walk past her to the customs gate to exit the gate. She watched as he passed her, past Eames, past Saito, past Yusuf and finally past Arthur. Even though she was with them a short amount of time she felt like they were her family now. She froze when she saw Cobb reach the custom counter and hand the security clerk his passport. Once he passed through customs she released the air she wasn't aware she had been holding in.

She started to walk towards the same exit that Cobb had just left through when Eames stopped her. She smiled at him, yes he was an attractive man and very sharp-tongued, which Ariadne loved but she only had the sight for one team mate.

"Where are you off to darling?" Eames asked her as they walked in unison, Eames on the right and Ariadne on the left. He smirked to himself when he saw Arthur walking towards them, so to have some fun with Arthur he put his left arm around the short girls shoulder next to him.

Ariadne laughed to herself because she had become accustomed to Eames flirty ways, he was the same way with all the girls. She looked up at him and with a smart wit tone said, "Where ever you aren't."

To be over dramatic Eames places his right hand over his heart and proclaimed, "Heartbroken by my dearest once more." Ariadne started to laugh and pushed Eames away from her and the moment she did she saw Arthur stride over to them. She felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart rate speed up so quickly she thought the thumping would be heart from all around them.

"Everyone should lay low for a few days so we can be sure we aren't being tracked down. Eames, I figure it will be no problem for you to find a rock to hide under." Arthur said glaring at the British male. Arthur had grown quite protected Ariadne over the time they spend together, and he knew how Eames was with girls. Arthur did not want Ariadne to be another notch in Eames belt.

Eames grinned at Arthur and put his arm back around the short girl. "Only if I can take this little beauty with me." He knew just how to get under Arthurs skin and it was one of his favorite past times.

Ariadne turned a deep shade of red; she wasn't use to the attention she was getting at the moment from the two males. As soon as she changed from her pale to the deep red Arthur reached over and pulled her to his side and blocked her from Eames. "Over my dead body, Eames." He said with un-characteristic anger in his voice. If looks could kill, Eames would be dead by now.

Once the Brit had accomplished what he wanted to do he tipped his imaginary hat and proclaimed, "I can tell when I am not wanted. I shall see you guys in a few weeks I suspect. Arthur my boy I do hope you are wise enough to remember to always be safe. See you kiddies later." With that he waved bye and walked away out of the airports exit and blended right in with the busy traffic of people right outside of the door.

Neither Ariadne nor Arthur knew what to say, his arm was still around her as if protecting her from the world. After three minutes, exactly three minutes Ariadne counted, she finally decided to speak. "I suppose we should leave, I bet we are starting to look suspicious to everyone around us." Arthur just nodded and when his petite companion went to reach for her bag he swift pick it up and swung it over his shoulder opposite his own bag.

"I remember how hard my first Shared Dream was and it was nowhere close to what we had done today, so I have booked us a room at a hotel up the road." The business looking man stated as he went to reach for her hand to pull her towards the exit.

At first she followed a few paces behind him, not holding onto his hand; instead she reached into her pocket and held tightly onto her totem. She felt herself relax when she felt the weight in her hand because it lead her to know it wasn't a dream. As they exited the same way as their team she grabbed hold of Arthur's arm so she would not get lost from him. They started their journey down the sidewalk to the hotel when she realized what he said. "Arthur wait, you booked us a room? As in a single room?"

She dropped her grasp on his arm and looked at him waiting for an answer as they not once stopped walking. Her eyes narrowed at the tall man beside her when he chuckled at her questions. "Ari, calm down. The hotel I booked us a room at has a suite that has a kitchenette, two bathrooms, a living room, a balcony with the view of the ocean as well as two separate bedrooms. I just know that the first time is always the hardest, I wouldn't want you waking up in the middle of the night scared and alone." The expression was the same that it always was, a serious face like he meant business.

After a ten minute walk they reached their destination and Ariadne stopped to take in the architecture of the building. She stared longingly at the building and noticed that on the outside it looked like something out of Las Vegas. It was a very tall building, nearly 10 stories high, and instead of brick like the buildings she was use to seeing, it was completely glass walls.

She would have stared at the building for hours if Arthur had not dragged her inside laughing quietly to himself. Ariadne not liking his laughing she jerked him around to look at her, "Why are you laughing?" She demanded, her chocolate brown eyes met his dark brown eyes and she felt herself gasping.

He gave her his heart-breaking smirk and said, "The reason I picked this hotel was because I knew you'd love it." Being a man of few words he walked over to the check in desk. Ariadne went to sit on the couches in the lobby to wait for him and she felt her mind wander off.

_She was back in the hotel sitting with Arthur waiting for Cobb to gain Fishers trust so they could go into the next dream. She sat in her charcoal business skirt and suit jacket with her hair put tightly into a bun at the top of her head. She may have looked like a business lady but she felt far from one. Next to Arthur she looked like a poser. _

_She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She thought about how handsome he looked in his black suit, blue stripped collared shirt and maroon tie. She could get lost just looking at him for hours but she then noticed that the projections were looking at them. She listened as he explained they were looking for him and almost did a double take when she heard him say, 'Quick, give me a kiss.' She didn't want the projections to find him and try to kill him sending him to limbo so she did as he asked._

_As her lips touched his she felt like she never felt before. She had tilted her body towards his, leaned in half way and he met her half way. The kiss only lasted mere seconds but it felt like a lifetime to her. Slowly, she pulled her lips away from his and looked around seeing the projections still watching them, "They're still looking at us." As soon as she said it she wished she didn't for the fact she was stating the obvious but she swore she was high from his lips._

_She thought she was in her own day dream when she heard him say, "Yeah, it's worth a shot." She had a small smile on her face in hopes that him saying that meant he had feelings for her. She wanted to stay in that moment but she heard her name being called and she was brought back to _reality.

Ariadne looked up at Arthur who was smiling down at her. "Come on, the room is all set." He said as he helped her off the couch and they walked to the elevator. Once they were settled inside of it Arthur pushed the button to go up to the fifth floor.

A few seconds pasted of silence when Ariadne finally spoke, "Where did the others go?" She spoke so quietly she was un-sure if Arthur had heard her. She looked at him and saw he was looking at the closed elevator door as if willing it to open, "If you can't share I understand."

"Are you worried about Eames?" he asked with a slight tone of bitterness in his voice.

Ariadne didn't know how to reply, she didn't know if he was just grumpy from the long flight or if he was actually jealous that she was friends with Eames. "I'm worried about all of them. You said we had to lay low for a few days meaning someone could be after us. If we are in danger I don't want my friends hurt." She looked right at him when she spoke hoping he would look at her but his eyes continued to bore into the door.

Neither of them spoke for a few seconds, when finally Arthur spoke up. "Dom is going to be with his kids, spend time with them in hiding until we can be sure we are safe. Eames is most likely at a casino somewhere and he will be there until he gets a new job. As for Saito, I'm not complete sure. He might have hopped right back onto his plane and gone back to Japan. I know that Yusuf is sticking around L.A for a while, sight-seeing I believe."

After that seemed like the longest elevator ride ever they finally arrived on the fifth floor. Ariadne followed Arthur down the hall to their room and she chuckled when she saw they would be staying in room 528. She heard Arthur swipe the key card in to the door; once it was unlocked he held it open for her and nodded for her to go into the room.

As she entered through the passage of the door she turned and gave Arthur a smile and he returned it causing the butterflies in her stomach to return. This was going to be a very difficult couple of days.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Sorry that it is slow to start but I promise it will get better. Please review it and give me advice on what I can do better and improve on. Also if anyone wants to beta the story let me know via PM. Please please please please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything in Inception that belongs all to Christopher Nolan the writer, director and producer. The only thing I own is the story line in my story but the original characters belong to Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers

**A/N:** This note won't be as long as chapter one's, I promise. I just want to say thank you guys SOOO much for reading this. It made me extremely happy to have like seven e-mails from fanfiction saying that people have added this story to their favorite story lists and to their story alert lists and it made me feel AMAZING! And earlier I signed on and looked at the story traffic for this and it made my heart soar even more seeing there was 106 hits and 103 visitors who looked at my story so I just want to say thank you guys so much and hopefully I don't disappoint everyone who likes this story so far. Enjoy chapter 2!

Chapter 2:

Ariadne heard Arthur shut the door as he walked into the room and she slowly took in the place they would be staying for the next couple days. She noticed that right when you walk in the room there is a large living room/dining room set up. Opposite of the door was the large glass window that had a beautiful view of the ocean. The interior design of the living room was very simple; the rug on the floor was a white plush rug that looked similar to snow. There was an L-shaped couch in the middle of the room that was black which provided a very nice contrast to the room. Across from the couch was a 56" plasma screen television on the wall with an entertainment system underneath which included a cable box, a DVD player and a Playstation 3.

Her eyes went to the dining room part of the room and saw it too was very simple. There was a round glass table in which the legs were made out of black steel. Around the table there were four black steel chairs with white cushions on the seats. On the table its self there was a glass vase with twelve bright red roses in the center of the table.

Ariadne then walked towards the kitchen area. The floor was tiled with white marble. There was a black refrigerator against the wall with a black marble topped counter next to it. In the middle of the counter there was a black oven and stove top. On the wall opposite of the stove there was another counter that had a dishwasher and a sink with a towel rack on top of the counter. Above the sink there was an open window so that anyone in the kitchen could see who was in the living room. She made her way out of the kitchen, running her fingers over the counter top, when she noticed Arthur standing in the doorway to the kitchen smiling at her.

Their eyes met and she gave him a confused look. "Is something wrong?" she asked concerned that she did something wrong.

Arthur shook his head and gave her a small smile and said, "Nothing is wrong. I like watching you at work." He paused and put his poker face back on. "I've put your stuff in the first bed room, the door is open so if you want to shower or change. Don't un-pack your suitcase, just in case we need to leave in a hurry. I'm just going to go take a shower if you need anything." He gave her a head nod and turned on his heels.

Ariadne watched him go into the second door and close it behind him. She glared down at her stomach when she felt the butterflies return with him saying he was going to shower. 'Stop it.' She said in her head hoping they would go away, but there was no luck. She decided that she too should shower after the flight. '_Go join him in the shower, you know you want to.'_ She heard her subconscious tell her, she ignored her subconscious and went into the open door.

She gasped as soon as she walked in. The bed was huge. It was a king size bed with four posts and a canopy above it. Just looking at it made her feel like a princess. She noticed that the room was different then the design of the rest of the suite. The floor was hardwood with a red rug in front of the bed. The comforter of the bed was a deep red and she could see that the sheets were white. There were four pillows on the bed, two white and two red. She moved closer to the bed and noticed that comforter had a gold trim around it. She smiled to herself when she saw her suitcase on the end of her bed.

She slowly opened it up to decide what she wanted to wear. Being around just Arthur made her nervous, and she wanted to look good. She put a book that she pulled out onto the nightstand that was next to the bed and returned to the suitcase. She finally decided on wearing red, white and black plaid drawstring pajama pants and a black tank top. She walked into her private bathroom and smiled at the beauty of it.

The bathroom had a large white tub that had gold legs. There was a gold sink under a large mirror. She noticed that this room was not encased in glass windows but full walls. The walls themselves were a light green with a white trim. She turned back to the tub and turned on the warm water so she could relax in the bath. As the tub filled up she slowly kicked off her shoes and took off the clothing she was wearing. She grabbed a towel from the towel rack and placed it on a hook next to the bath tub.

As soon as the bath tub was filled to her liking she turned the water off and slowly climbed into the water and let herself sink into the relaxing water. She closed her eyes and felt herself relax. Reaching over she grabbed onto the hotel soap and washed herself off, and next she grabbed the shampoo to wash her hair following it with the conditioner. It smelt like her shampoo and conditioner at home, vanilla with a small hint of lavender.

Once she made sure that all the shampoo and conditioner was out of her hair, she noticed that the water was getting cold. She slowly stepped out of the bath tub and grabbed onto the white terry cloth towel to wrap it around her. She reached into the water and pulled the plug so the water drained.

She used the towel to dry all the water drops off of her before she put her pajamas on. Once she had her clothes on she used the towel to dry her hair which caused it to curl slightly. Once she was satisfied with how she looked she walked out of the bathroom shutting the light off behind her. She dropped her towel into the towel basket that was outside of the door to the bathroom. Looking once more in a mirror that was in her room she made her way out to the living room area in search for Arthur.

A smile graced her face when she spotted him on the couch watching T.V. She noticed that not one was he not wearing a suit, but he was in a white cotton t-shirt. She walked over to him and smirked. "I never would have guessed that you owned anything else besides suits."

After dealing with Eames for many years Arthur knew how to keep up with smart witted comments. "And I would have thought you even wore your scarves to bed." He teased.

They just stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Neither of them was sure as to why, they just did. During their laughter Ariadne noticed that Arthur was wearing plaid pajama pants that matched her and she started to laugh more. She tapped his knee and when she got a confused look she pointed at her pants. That caused them to start to laugh even harder.

The point man and architect shared their laughs for around five minutes before both were red-faced and gasping for air. As the pair calmed down Ariadne looked at the clock on the cable box and saw it was close to midnight. "Arthur, I think I may call it a night."

Arthur's face went from a smile to his serious poker face. "I think that's a wise idea Ari. If you need anything I will either be out here working or in my room, just come find me."

Ariadne nodded her head at him and got off the couch. She walked to her room and closed the door behind her. She turned the red comforter back and she climbed into the sheets. The bed was so soft that she felt like she was sinking into it. Her eyes started to close right away and soon she was in a familiar world of dreaming…

_She walked the streets of Paris that she had grown use to from attending school there. She looked down and she saw she was wearing black boots that went to her knees, black leggings, a black mid-thigh turtle neck dress and a red scarf. Her hair was down in its natural slight curls. Over her right shoulder there was a brown messenger bag that to her felt extremely light. _

_Her feet seemed to take her to a pre-destined location. Once she stopped walking she noticed she was at the café where she was with Cobb when they first went under. She reached into her messenger bag in search for her totem. She couldn't find it in her bag so she hoped that meant she was in a real dream since she didn't remember falling asleep with her totem. _

_As she tried to figure out what she was doing there she spun around in search of anyone from the team who might be there, but she saw no one. She walked over to the table that she had shared with Cobb and she looked around again for some sort of clue as to why she was there. _

_She suddenly saw a flash of dark brown hair go by. She got off her chair and went in the direction she saw it go in. Once again, she saw the flash of dark brown hair, this time catching a better glimpse. She noticed it was a girl in her mid-thirties wearing a knee length white dress. _

_Ariadne tried to catch up to the girl who seemed to be leading her to her old school where she first met Cobb. She noticed that the girl had stopped walking and slowly turned to face Ariadne. She young architect felt herself gasp as she saw the face of the mystery girl in front of her._

"_Mal?" Ariadne spoke unsure of her own voice._

_With a smirk on her face Mal. "Do you understand now? Do you know what it is like to be a lover? To be half of a whole?" _

_Ariadne had a confused look on her face. "I don't understand what you are asking." This whole thing made Ariadne very un-easy. She hoped to hear for the music to play to signal the kick. She heard nothing though. "You're not real!" The young girl exclaimed in attempts to clear her mind._

_Mal smirked once more at the girl. "Silly girl, I am real. I am real in here," she pointed to Ariadne's head. "Why do you think Arthur wants to keep an eye on you? He's scared you will turn into me. Guess what, your next little girl. You are going to be over-come by going under and soon you will not be able to tell reality from dreams."_

_Ariadne shook her head. "No, you are wrong. I will never turn into you. I will never be overcome by the dreams. Arthur wanted to be here with me because he has feelings for me. I'm sure of it. He knows I will never become like you!" _

"_Do you honestly believe he likes you? He kissed you didn't he? In one of the dreams I'm guessing. I bet the sneaky boy even said it was to try to distract the projections from noticing you two." Mal took a step close to Ariadne which made her step back._

_Ariadne didn't say anything, all she could do was think about what Mal said. "He did it because he wanted to, not because he thought it would distract the projections." _

_Mal stepped right in front of Ariadne and shook her head. "You poor thing, you fell for his tricks. He doesn't like you, he used you." Mal spoke as she started to get anger. "He is just making sure that you don't turn out to be addicted to the dreams. Once he thinks you are fine he will leave you and will never see you again. Get that thought into your head!"_

"_You are wrong! He doesn't think I will be addicted to the dreams and he isn't scared that I will turn out like you! I will never be like you Mal!" Ariadne yelled at her. She turned around to walk away from Mal when she heard what she thought sounded like a gun cock. Ariadne froze even though her head told her to run. _

"_The sooner you realize that he is just using you the better dearest. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you." Mal spoke in a bitter tone. "Sweet dreams Ariadne." She pulled the trigger of the gun and shot Ariadne in the back._

The architect woke up with a scream that would have woken the dead. Within a matter of seconds she heard Arthur burst through the door and to her bed side. He scrambled onto the bed next to her and pulled her to his chest.

"Ari, what happened?" he asked her in a quiet voice as he fully pulled her onto him so her head was on his shoulder and she was on his lap. He had his left hand tangled in the hair on the back of her head as if he was trying to keep her there while his right hand was rubbing up and down her back. He felt his t-shirt getting wet from the girl's tears. "Ari, shh. It was just a dream, you're alright."

Once she calmed down slightly she looked over to her purse which laid beside her bed. Arthur caught what she was looking at and reached over picking it up and placing it next to them. He watched her carefully as she reached inside of her bag and pulled out her Brass Chess piece totem. He felt her physically relax against him once she figured out she was back in reality.

"Please talk to me Ari. How am I supposed to make it better if you won't talk to me?" He pleaded with her trying to get to the bottom of her troubled sleep.

After a few more seconds of pure silence the frightened girl finally spoke. "Mal," was all she said at first as she took in a deep breath. She spoke so quietly she was almost sure that Arthur hadn't heard her so she looked at him. Her eyes red and puffy from crying but she still looked directly into Arthur's eyes. "Mal was there Arthur. She was in my dream."

Arthur pulled the girl back to his chest and cradled her to him as he resumed rubbing her back. He cussed to himself under his breath. "It was just a dream Ari, just a horrible dream. Try to go back to sleep, I'll stay with you." He sat with her for a while, he was un-sure of how long but he could tell it was over an hour. When he looked down at her he saw that she had fallen back to sleep. Being extremely careful and gentle he laid her back onto the bed and tucked her under the covers.

He exited her room, leave the door open just in case she woke up again. He went over to the couch where he had left his cell phone. He sat on the couch, picked up the cell phone and dialed a number he had known by heart by now. It rang a few times before the person on the other end finally picked up.

"Arthur, you realize its three in the morning right?" A groggy voice spoke over the ear piece.

"I don't care what time it is. We have a problem." The point man spoke in a sharp tone as he stared at the wall.

Arthur heard the man on the phone groan and he heard a bed squeak indicating that the man was getting out of bed. "What is the problem that couldn't wait until a reasonable hour?" the man asked clearly irritated at the hour of which this call was taking place.

"Mal is in Ariadne's dreams." Arthur said hoping this got the callers interest. Arthur waited for a answer from the other line but when he didn't get an imitate response he spoke again, "Is that a problem worth being woken up at three in the morning?"

"That is a very good reason to be up at three in the morning. Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be there. Meet me in the lobby." The male said sounding a lot more awake. "Give Eames a call to, I'm sure he would like to know what is going on with Ariadne."

"I will let him know." The point man paused and looked towards Ariadne's door and then finished what he was going to say. "Please hurry, I'm worried about her."

The man on the other line gave a chuckle. "I'll try to make it ten minutes but I can't make any promises Arthur."

"Cobb, please. It's Ariadne we are talking about." Arthur pleaded with his mentor.

Cobb let out a sigh. "I'll make it there in less than ten minutes. See you soon." With that he hung up. Arthur saw the screen said call ended so he set his phone back onto the couch and returned to Ariadne's room to watch over her. He brushed her hair away from her face and quietly said to himself, "I wish you had just walked away Ari."

**A/N:** Thank you guys so much for reading this chapter. Please review the story so I can improve on it. If you have suggestions I am always open to them. And I just want to say thank you guys again because when I finished this chapter the story had 176 hits and 147 visitors so thank you guys so much. You have given me the inspiration to write again. So, thank you!


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